I saw some diaries during pledge week that made me think twice about donating to NPR, the big one that hit the rec list was Why I am done contributing to NPR. I read the comments, and this one stuck with me
NPR = Nice Polite Republicans
Behind the "balanced" quasi-liberalism is a beltway mindset, a framing that fundamentally supports the Republican / lobbyist influence over the beltway agenda. Thanks for this diary.
h/t Rethfernhim
So I contemplated not donating, but I make a nice living and I listen to NPR on my commute to and from work and find it informative enough and although not nearly progressive enough for my tastes, leaps and bounds better than any other talk radio, so I donated $150.
Well I want my money back. You guys were right, I should have just listened to you and kept my cash. I wish Air America was still broadcasting in Columbus, they would have gotten my donation and then some! So what has got me so angry, it was a piece from Morning Edition that could have been pulled straight from Fox News, entitled, "GOP Strategist: Obama Honeymoon Is Over." (full audio at link) Well we should have all seen this Media Matters video already, if not here you go
Basically Inskeep allows a Republican strategist, Mike Murphy, to come on and spit vitriol propaganda for 4 minutes and 44 seconds. I commented on the story and it sums up my feelings nicely.
I was floored to hear this claptrap on my way to work today, the premise is absolutely absurd. Yes 2 Governer races were won by Republicans, but in the actual National Politics, democrats picked up 2 seats in the house Garamendi and Owens. Owens won in a Republican district, while the Republican party ate itself. So to try to paint the elections as a decisive message to either party is intellectually dishonest.
The honeymoon was over for Republicans before Obama got into office, Obama has spent his first 8 months in office making incredible strides in many areas, including saving the nation from a second Great Depression. President Obama has also bent over backwards to reach across the aisle, but has again and again been rebuked by the opposition party, which refuses to be the loyal opposition and instead stands as an objectionist force against any attempt at sensible governance.
A truly liberal progressive healthcare reform would be Universal Medicare for All, we are now trying to get some Frankenstein Opt-Out watered down Public Option for only the uninsurable. This is compromise, to call it anything else is to lie to your listeners and for Mr. Murphy, to lie to himself.
This segment was awful, you have failed this day
The other comments are also gold
Eric Wilson
I'm surprised at how many times this morning the Morning Edition anchor chose not to question Murphy's assertions - especially the ridiculous statement to the effect that when Barak Obama came into office he did not attempt to reach out to Republicans, but chose to rule the country as if it were a one party state. To paraphrase a memorable congressman's riposte to a similar bit of nonsense, just what planet does Murphy live on?
The anchor allowed Murphy to pretty much proceed unimpeded by the facts. If there's one thing that most Democrats believe about the President, it's that he has spent way too much time (actually "wasted") too much time trying to seek consensus with a GOP that is committed to voting against everything and anything the Democrats propose. ONE PARTY STATE? If only we could be a little more disciplined like the GOP in that respect.
I know that toward the end of the interview, Inskeep delicately suggested Murphy might be overstating things, but a more skeptical attitude would have yielded something a little more "reality-based," don't you think?
Sounds like Eric Wilson might be a kossack, with his concern for "reality-based" journalism.
Tom Martrullo
It seems even the rare Republican endowed with intelligence cannot address the real world without grasping it as a marketing, a messaging, a framing challenge. Mr. Murphy, asked about substance, tells us it's inseparable from messaging. We had 8 years of messaging from an administration that had no substance. If Mr. Murphy still cannot tell them apart, his skills will only help further undermine valid political process.
Scott Bates
I started listening to this 2 minutes in and wondered which republican head is this? There was a time when NPR would give equal time to both parties or follow up with the opposite party. No longer. That is one of the reasons to go outside of NPR for more in depth and factual coverage.
I feel like I've been hoodwinked, and I'm furious. I want my money back, if this is what its going to fund. We need Air America back in my beautiful Ohio, its the only way. I have family in Cleveland and on the ride home from Columbus to Cleveland there are times when Rush Limbaugh is on 3 fucking stations at the same fucking time!!!. We need to be able to give big cities, like Columbus, Cleveland, and (they sure could use it) Cincinnati, a Progressive Alternative.